Thursday, January 22; Thursday, February 5; Thursday, March 12; Thursday, January 15; Thursday, February 26; Thursday, March 26; Thursday, April 16
Times: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Cost: Price varies by workshop. See below for details.
Museum Education Building
For more than 50 years, countless students have participated in hands-on activities in the Museum Education Building. Now, adults have the opportunity to enjoy a hands-on workshop through our Adult Field Trip series! During this series, talented museum educators will lead participants through workshops based on the same programming we offer to the field trip audience, only with slightly more advanced, unique activities.
Important Workshop Details:
- Workshops take place in the Museum Education Building, and guests can park in the Museum Ed lot. View map
- Workshops are designed for ages 14+
- Fees include material costs
- Space is limited, and pre-registration is required
- Old Sturbridge Village is closed during this workshop.
- Wine and seasonal mocktails will be served during each program
- Please let us know as soon as possible if you need to cancel your workshop tickets. As these workshops are in high demand, refunds for workshop fees will only be given up to one week prior to the event date, or in the case of cancellation by Old Sturbridge Village.
From Hearth to Table: The First Fifty Years of American Food
January 15, 2026 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Cost: Members: $40 | Non-members: $50
In this two-hour open-hearth cooking class, we will tackle Amelia Simmons’ American Cookery (1796), the first published cookbook in America. Participants will work together to prepare some classic receipts (recipes) from the cookbook. Along the way we will discuss the significance of Simmons’s work and how her receipts reflect the blending of English tradition with New World ingredients. Receipts will include Potato Pie and Election Cake.
*Ingredients may include flour, butter, sugar, raisins, eggs, spices, potatoes, wine, brandy, yeast, milk, and yeast.
Stenciled Tea Towel Workshop
January 22, 2026 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Cost: Members: $45 | Non-members: $55
Join an educator to explore 1830s decorative arts and patterns from the collection before making your own stenciled tea towels!
Candle Making Workshop
January 22, 2026 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Cost: Members: $45 | Non-members: $55
Candle making was a necessary but messy chore for the 1830s rural family. Join educators to try out candle dipping and talk about its role in 19th–century farm life. Each participant will leave with a tin candle holder and two bayberry candles they have made themselves!
Letterlocking Workshop
February 5, 2026 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Cost: Members: $45 | Non-members: $55
Combine the book arts with origami in this letterlocking workshop. Participants will create letterlocked cards and works of art under the instruction of one of our museum educators!
Chocolate Workshop
February 5, 2026 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Cost: Members: $45 | Non-members: $55
With Valentine’s Day, February is a popular time for chocolate. Join us for an evening of talking about all things chocolate in the 19th century and cook a chocolate receipt (recipe) over the hearth.
From Hearth to Table: The First Fifty Years of American Food
February 26, 2026 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Cost: Members: $40 | Non-members: $50
Highlighted in this two-hour open-hearth cooking class is Mary Randolph, author of The Virginia House-Wife. (1824) Randolph’s work is considered the first regional cookbook of the United States. Participants will roll up their sleeves and cook recipes both sweet and savory that capture the beginnings of a distinctly Southern cuisine. Recipes include Sweet Potato Pone and Chicken Pudding, A Favorite Virginia Dish.
*Ingredients may include eggs, milk, butter, sugar, sweet potatoes, and flour.
Seed Harvesting Workshop
March 12, 2026 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Cost: Members: $45 | Non-members: $55
Prepare for spring planting with a seed harvesting workshop! Participants will learn about 19th-century planting and gardening while instructors teach how to gather seeds from plants like echinacea and zinnia. Then decorate your own seed packets and flower pots to take home.
Natural Dyeing Workshop
March 12, 2026 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Cost: Members: $45 | Non-members: $55
For families still processing wool at home in the 1830s, dyeing was an important step in the process of creating colorful wool textiles. Join an educator to learn more about the wool process, the dyes used in the 1830s and then create your own naturally dyed fibers.
From Hearth to Table: The First Fifty Years of American Food
March 26, 2026 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Cost: Members: $40 | Non-members: $50
Not all cookbooks were the same. Some offered up recipes and practical home advice. The Cook’s Own Book (1832), written by Mrs. Lee, provided a guide to everyday cooking and was also a household manual that captured the essence of 19th-century domestic life. In this two-hour workshop, we will create recipes from The Cook’s Own Book as well as discuss the advice she saw as important to run a successful 19th-century home. Receipts will include American Snowballs, Chicken Fricasseed, and Spinach with Butter.
*Ingredients may include chicken, butter, eggs, flour, milk, and spinach.
From Hearth to Table: The First Fifty Years of American Food
April 16, 2026 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Cost: Members: $50 | Non-members: $60
The last in the series of our first 50 years of our young nation will focus on soups and sweets from our three cookbook authors that tell the story of a young nation’s evolving tastes. In this two-hour hands-on class, we will prepare and taste recipes that will take us through a flavorful journey in the kitchens of the women who helped create American foodways. Receipts will include Okra Soup, Potato Balls, and Cider Cake.
*Ingredients may include okra, butter, sugar, flour, spices, rice, eggs, potato, and bread crumbs.
